What I'm Learning, from Writing Daily (51/365)

I am no rock climber. So to be clear, that is not a photo of me.

However, this image does reflect how it often feels to write and publish daily.

Spend some time viewing the image. And draw your own conclusions.

Do you know the feeling?

What I can say is, I've learned a thing or two since I've committed to this personal challenge.

Writing can feel like, "man against himself".

Only, there is no mountain top. And there's no base camp.

It's me and my keyboard. Alone. On a mountaintop.

Or is it?

Only if I insist.

There are some things I'm learning that may help someone considering taking that "first step", towards writing...or doing anything new, for that matter.

I've Learned

1. Writing is not about me. Recently, I had the opportunity to revisit a blog I'd launched years ago. Wow, I've grown. Back then, my writing was about me. Now, I work tirelessly to make my writing about you...the reader. You are my "main character".

2. Time matters. For anyone who's invested time reading my thoughts, thank you. And second, you may notice, I'm working on composing shorter pieces. I joke often about my lopsided word-to-idea ratio, so I use writing to focus my thoughts. People are busy. They want to read something short, memorable, and helpful. That's my job.

3. I'm not alone. It's been a pleasant surprise realizing, I'm not alone on the ascent. The feedback has built confidence and has been reassuring. Whether a virtual mentor, mentor texts, or a community, there are others "out there" also finding their way.

This next stage, my plans are to:

• approach writing as being helpful, to you, the reader.

• define categories of writing, based on reader feedback.

• keep it short and sweet, making my point in as few words as possible.

And my advice to new writers, or those who've wanted to start, but don't quite know where, or when, or how?

That first unsure step begins with one word, and then one sentence.

So write one sentence.

And watch what happens next.